Hasta La Ideas

There’s an interesting discussion going on over at the Core77 boards on the design of commercial heavy duty vehicles, and we’re liking the variety of voices (and willingness to throw images up there). Topic starter Ginrod comments on the sportscar-like styling adopted by many tractor manufacturers like this one:

Further down, former HDR (Heavy Duty Repairman) and Operating Engineer LMO, who has logged more than 10,000 hours “in the seat” in addition to actually fixing the machines in question, sounds off with the invaluable firsthand experience that’s so important in discussions like these:

I’d be more concerned with the ease of operation (ergonomics) and maintainability of these machines than their appearance. All the swoopy curves…are pleasant to look at but since they are only attainable via molded plastics their field longevity is probably not too good; all the the stuff that I’ve worked on suffered from it (most operators of this equipment aren’t too concerned with bumping into things).

The typical HDR is expected to keep his employer’s equipment running (often approaching a 90% duty cycle) with the tools s/he has on the truck, and that seldom, if ever, includes a drum of polyester resin and roll of fiberglass cloth, let alone the technical composites expertise to use it correctly.

In the vein of the classic “form follows function,” LMO then points out that styling can make an important contribution by opening up line-of-sight from the cabs, which can increase both safety and productivity.

His last point is the one we found most interesting, as it says something about what happens when design moves faster than people are willing to adapt to. Look at the interior and controls of the CAT 160H Motor Loader, a vehicle that dates from 1995 (captions by LMO):

“Typical of all other makes, control (ten levers) must be reached for and manually ‘blended.'”

Then look at the controls inside CAT’s current M14 model:

“All controls accessible without moving the hands from 3-axis joystick hand controllers…. Many of the old hands that I know, who operate ‘blades’ (as they’re called), are so frustrated with learning these new controls that they are retiring from the business.”

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Yves Behar gave a quick Q&A to the Times, providing quotes on technology, sustainability, and the role of social activism in design. He kicked things off with this encouraging view:

I truly believe that we’re about to enter a second golden age of design. The first one was in the ’50s and ’60s, when designers like Raymond Loewy, Charles Eames, George Nelson and Dieter Rams were shepherds of the brands they were working with. They had influence over the products and how companies communicated and promoted themselves.

To me, this year is the promised year….

In the hopes he’s right, we’ll raise our glasses a little higher tonight.

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This is a great design project because a) it incorporates recycling, b) it’s a useful product, and c) the design addresses and corrects the flaws of earlier generations of the same product.

Shibuya-based Naruse-Inokama Architects, comprised of Jun Inokuma and Yuri Naruse, takes wood waste from houses and turns that into paper. The resultant paper is then formed into a stack of Post-It-like sticky notes that are in turn shaped like little houses. (They’re called IE-TAGs as “ie” is Japanese for “house.”) And as anyone who’s ever seen a thick book loaded up with Post-It bookmarks can attest, the corners of the Post-Its get dog-eared like nobody’s business. The resultant mess could hardly be called aesthetically pleasing.

The house shape of NIA’s sticky notes, on the other hand, get rid of the corners altogether. I do wonder how they’ll hold up if the book is, say, thrown into a crowded bookbag, and I’m curious enough to try ’em if someone would kindly start selling these at a store near me. (Muji, get on these!)

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Good gosh do I want one of these Bullerjan furnaces, a woodburning stove whose design suggests in contains a V8 engine. In fact the pipes on the bottom draw in cold air and those on top vent hot air, giving this “Free Flow” design an “enormous heating capacity.”

My favorite part of the product copy is the company’s claim that it was developed by Canadian lumberjacks. I picture a group of enormous Paul-Bunyan-lookin’ dudes in red flannel shirts crammed around a comparatively tiny CAD machine in a forest cabin, waiting for the render to complete. “It’s stuck at 82%, eh?”

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I know they’re not meant to be funny looking, but I keep thinking these are the kinds of shoes you send your kid out in when you want him to get beat up at the playground:

They’re by a Japanese company called Globe, and the advertised merits of having separated-toe shoes is improved circulation, hygiene (I guess isolated toes develop no “funk”), and a better sense of grabbing the ground with your feet for those being physically rehabilitated.

One merit they forgot to add is that it will make your boy tougher or at the very least, accustomed to fighting off a daily onslaught of attackers at the monkey bars. Yeah, if my kid had to wear these I’d draw attention away from his feet by giving him one of those beanies with the propeller on top.

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